Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta’s chief of staff forced out

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta’s chief of staff will be forced out by the end of this month after an investigation by the White House raised questions about his professional conduct.

A DOL spokesperson confirmed Nick Geale‘s departure Tuesday but did not provide further details.

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White House officials instructed Acosta to fire Geale after its review concluded that Geale's interactions with employees were damaging DOL morale, according to two former Trump administration officials with direct knowledge of the investigation.

According to the former officials, Geale created a culture of fear inside DOL’s headquarters with profanity-laced tirades and belittlement of subordinates.

“There are times when he goes completely loony,” said one of the former Trump officials, recalling Geale pounding the table and screaming during a meeting.

Geale, in a written statement, called the DOL staff “dedicated and professional," and said he was “very excited to spend time with my new family and take on the next challenges of our journey.”

One of the former Trump officials recalled a particularly fraught encounter in which Geale became furious about what he perceived as poor preparation for a meeting.

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“Nick came into my office screaming and yelling and throwing papers on my desk,” the former official said. “I chose to leave [DOL] because I didn’t get any work done.“

“He’s abusive, he’s abrasive, he tries to be intimidating, he’s condescending,” the former official added. After this person complained to Acosta about Geale's rages, nothing changed. “He ratified Nick’s behavior,” the former official said. “He was privy to it.“

Bloomberg Law reported that in April 2018 Geale sent out a memo ordering the agency's top political appointees to "physically remain in the Frances Perkins [Building] on the day before a hearing until allhearing preparation is completed.... No agency head is allowed to be out of town or otherwise even leave the building on the day before the Secretary testifies without affirmative permission from either Molly [Conway, deputy chief of staff] or me.”

A third person with knowledge of the situation said Geale alienated not only DOL officials but also "people at the White House." Some White House officials also expressed frustration to POLITICO with the slow pace of deregulation at DOL, and blamed that at least in part on Geale.

Acosta’s own proclivity for caution continues to bother Republican allies who expected a more forceful advocate for business. For instance, DOL has struggled for months to finalize a rule that would privatize some of the agency's apprenticeship training, as it was instructed to do by a 2017 order from President Donald Trump. Enthusiasm for the initiative is tepid inside DOL.

“Very few people, if any, in the building think that this will work,” another DOL official said.

Geale‘s forced departure is more bad news for Acosta, who has spent the last few months fending off criticism of a 2008 plea deal he reached with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein when Acosta was a U.S. attorney in Florida. A federal judge in February ruled that the Justice Department’s failure to notify Epstein's victims of the plea deal before it was finalized violated the 2004 Crime Victims' Rights Act.

"In many positions at the Department of Labor, on Capitol Hill, and as a member of the National Mediation Board, Nicholas Geale is a national expert on labor issues,” Acosta said in a statement. “After years of hard work here at the Department, I wish him the best on his future endeavors.”